User:Wayne Decatur/Interactions between Antibiotics and the Ribosome

Brief Summary of the Scope and Approach of this Set of Pages
A major class of antibiotics are those that target protein synthesis. Structures of antibiotics bound to ribosomal subunits and full ribosomes have now revealed at atomic-resolution the details of binding and the mechanisms of inhibition of several members of this important class of small molecules. Several of these structures highlighted below.

Given the numerous solved structures of antibiotics complexed with ribosomes and ribosomal subunits and the massive size and complexity of the ribosome and the derived coordinate files, several technical and pedagogical issues are obstacles appreciating the elegance and insight provided by these structures. Towards that end this set of pages feature:
 * Consistent representation and color scheme for the ribosomal subunits, elements and ligands enabling easy visualization of where a particular antibiotic binds.
 * Links to Proteopedia pages covering the essentials of the structures of each subunit and complete ribosome.
 * Data optimized for viewing online in Jmol. This includes limiting much of the files to simply alpha carbon and phosphate atoms and, significantly, combining data split split across multiple PDB coordinate files so the entire ribosome structure is visible at once, an issue the RCSB Protein Data Bank has recently attempted to address, as described here.

Additional Literature and Resources

 * Antibiotic Guide